'Justified' Writer Elmore Leonard Dies at 87

August 21, 2013 03:24:46 GMT

The best-selling author, who wrote 'Get Shorty' and 'Maximum Bob' among others, passes away at the age of 87 after suffering stroke.

Photo credit: /WENN

Crime thriller novelist Elmore Leonard passed away at his Detroit home on August 20 at 7:15 A.M. He was 87. Leonard was "surrounded by his loving family" during his passing, a statement on his official site read. The author, who was in the process of writing his 46th novel, suffered from stroke prior to his death.

Fellow author Patricia Cornwell mourned Leonard's death, saying that he would be "hugely missed." As quoted by BBC, she called Leonard "one of the true icons of crime literature and entertainment." Besides Cornwell, British author Ian Rankin, who is popular for his "Inspector Rebus" novels, paid tribute via Twitter.

"Elmore Leonard died? Sad news. What a great writer. Gave me a few tips once. I ignored most of them," Rankin wrote. Author of multi-million selling novel "Man and Boy" Tony Parsons added, "Elmore Leonard, rest in peace. It was a joy to read your books, it was a privilege to share a planet with you. Those books will never die."

Leonard was born in New Orleans in 1925. His father worked in General Motors and the family moved a lot before finally settling down in Detroit when Leonard was 11. Young Leonard was interested in literary work since he was in fifth grade.

The author published his first novel "The Bounty Hunters" in 1953. Throughout his long career, Leonard released more than 40 novels. Some of them are adapted into films, such as "Out of Sight" and "Get Shorty". The former, which was adapted from Leonard's novel with the same title, has George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez as the cast members. John Travolta and Danny Devito took part in "Get Shorty" movie in 1995.

Leonard's work was also turned into a small-screen show. FX's series "Justified", which stars Timothy Olyphant, is an adaptation of his novels "Pronto", "Riding the Rap" and short story "Fire in the Hole".